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The Not-So-Little Mermaid
Carson started an "adults only" version of this part of the storyline, which promptly brought in the hits. It's basically a bout of silliness to offset the dire events of the previous book; Baughb and Glynhial both seeking a break from reality. Which, as it turns out, meant that Really Bad Mojo was a-comin' down hard. While Glynhial flies away with a terrified Airek - who, after all, is a classic nerd and leery of things magical - Filis and Baughb go skinny-dipping. Then again, the last day or two had been mighty strenuous, and bathing au naturel in cold water is quite invigorating. Those two seemed to be so close now you'd need dynamite to separate them. As it turned out, this was a most decidedly naked lie... In the course of her wanderings, Glynhial makes a trip to Atlantis. There, she meets Queen Leukothea, a charming, if - um, shall we say over''endowed? - mermaid. Glynhial also turns on the charm herself, behaving somewhat out of character. As it turns out, Glynhial has been to Atlantis before - when it was a true city, hobnobbing with the real Queen Leukothea. The modern Atlantis, she has found, is little more than a series of caves ruled by a lunatic half-human cannibal. (As Airek can attest, she's a mighty good kisser though.) Glynhial is not pleased, and takes steps. This causes Airek displeasure in turn, and ''he takes steps - and reveals a startling secret about his inner life. After one truly hideous gag strip, Leukothea's sentence gets commuted to land-bound exile. The bodily changes involved in adapting to land (i.e. replacing fins with legs) take Glynhial by surprise. The method of transport used to ferry Leukothea to more populated lands will make your eye pop. And so Glynhial and Airek fly away homeward, unaware that Leukothea has a) swiped their map, and b) thinks she's carrying Airek's baby! One wonders what Airek did while Glynhial was fetching that old sea-dog, apart from kitting Leukothea out with a brassiere made of vines and leaves... And at this point Carson's monitor went phut. It took weeks to a) get a replacement and b) get the right cables. The withdrawal symptoms were hell, I tell you, hell! By this time, several in-comic days have passed, with Glynhial and Airek homeward bound. Just before computer problems struck again, Airek manages to prevent Glynhial from turning into a tyrant by waving his rank - he is next in line to rule, after all - in her face. A chastened Glynhial ends up apologising. Later, the pair - Glynhial now beginning to tire - arrive at some cliffs that Glynhial recognises. Picking up sensations of pain and despair, she puts on a spurt, but seems to be too late. Crows have already picked the dragon's bones. However, it turns out that there is another dragon there - a baby, really, who prevents Airek from doing something involving a book and promptly wins Glynhial's heart and the moniker Grafingle. Then she pushes Airek off the cliff. In order to "recharge". Just because she's oath-bound to respect elven authority doesn't mean she's obsequious... And so the three of them return to Hollowwood, just in time for the festive season. Somehow, Filis manages to get Glynhial into a dress (and not a flattering one) prior to heading off to the festivities (yes, you read that right!) But while Glee and Airek were away, things changed drastically for the worse. Baughb is getting married into one of the richer and more prestigious families, and he doesn't seem to enthused about explaining this to Glynhial. Filis is also concerned about how she's going to take the news, but it's too late to bottle her now... ---- This book, and its R-rated sibling, not only hauled in the hits but also controversy, with some forumites expressing concern about how this is casting the comic overall, not to mention some lengthy discussions about merfolk physiology. Category:Synopsis